KK's = A-OK

The Malaysia Kitchen Programme has done its best to keep me sober by continuing to send me to unlicensed restaurants, but finally I found a way to outsmart it - heading to KK Restaurant (Ghuznee Street, Wellington) with some friends after a pub quiz so we didn't need any more drinks.

We were pleased to find the normally packed restaurant had a table for us, given that it was around 9.30pm. In fact, they were getting close to closing up, so we were asked to order quickly, and pay as soon as we'd ordered. That and the somewhat brusque service were OK by us, because we understand wanting to get home at night, and at $39 for five dishes, it's not like we were exactly breaking the bank.

The deep fried tofu appetiser was large and tasty, piled with cruchy vegetables and sprinkled with ground peanuts. "I liked that it had heaps of mung beans but also had a bit too much sweet chili," said my friend. Indeed, the plate was pretty much swimming in sweet chili, but stil managed to be a delicious salad. The crunch of the raw carrots and cabbage was a great offset to the chewy tofu.

Another friend who orders seafood Mee Goreng everywhere she goes says KK's version was delicious, "definitely one of the better flavoursome ones and not swimming in oil".

Also pleasantly lacking in oil, compared to many other cheap Malaysian restaurants, was the roti, even if it wasn't made in-house. The chicken roti chenai was pleasant enough, but could have done with more spice. It's hard to complain at $6.50 a dish though.

My nasi lemak, however, was served with the traditional sambal on the side, meaning I could spice up my beef rendang as much as I liked. The coconut rice could have been a little more coconuty, and the beef a little more tender, but for $9.50, it was good eating.

We rounded out our meal with a plate of super crunchy wontons, unusually made with chicken instead of pork, although that - and KK's lack of liquor license - may be in deference to Malaysia's large Muslim population.

In the past I've overlooked KK to go to Satay Village next door, purely because they're BYO, but KK's menu is so interesting and flavoursome, I might have to do some rethinking on that...

Joanna McLeod loves eating, drinking and her hometown Wellington with the fierceness of a thousand suns. Lucky then that her night job is editing The Wellingtonista - a collective blog founded in 2005 about Wellington and its many cafes, restaurants, bars and scandals. Joanna is very happy there are so many Malaysian restaurants in town, as she believes the secret to inner happiness lies at the bottom of a laksa bowl.

Top times at Kopi Tiam

Today's Malaysian quest takes us out of the CBD to Newtown, but luckily parking is easy at Newtown Mall and we can do the supermarket shopping afterwards. Kopi Tiam (195 Riddiford St) is an unassuming little place, but the food is surprisingly good.

My friend orders a laksa and is overwhelmed by the size of the bowl. It's loaded with shredded chicken, tofu, egg, fishballs and crabstick. I steal a spoonful and discover the gravy is a good combination of coconut richness and curry flavour. She gets nowhere near the bottom of the bowl before she gives up, which means it's excellent value for $9.50. The two of us probably could have shared the bowl for lunch, along with the roti, which in this case is served as a whole square and is nothing special.

But in order to try more things on the menu, I order the beef rendang. If we ignore the lettuce and carrot garnish - which I do - this is actually one of the best rendangs I've had in Wellington. It's not as dry as is traditional, but it's perfectly balanced. The meat falls apart at the touch of the fork, and the coconut is prominent. The portion size is generous for $12.50 as well.

We don't need them at all, but we also order half a dozen wontons ($8) - for research purposes, obviously. They're gloriously crisp, and the filling has a texture like the pork equivalent of a fish cake.

As well as serving Malaysian, Kopi Tiam has a whole 'nother blackboard full of deep fried Western-style food and toasted sandwiches, so it could be a good compromise spot for a couple with different tastes. We notice it's full of New World staff on their lunchbreaks, and there are plenty of magazines which makes it a good spot to eat in by yourself.

Rainy day lunch at Satay Kingdom

Satay Kingdom (Shop 212, Left Bank, Wellington) is named by many people in Wellington as their favourite Malaysian because of its prices. It took out the best cheap eats section in The Annual Wellingtonista Awards for a couple of years in a row until we decided it wasn't eligible anymore because it's not licensed. That's right, not even BYO.

Because a dinner without wine is not a dinner at all, we head to Satay Kingdom on a rainy day for lunch. The outside tables in Leftbank might have a canopy and a heater, but they're still not very appealing in this weather, so we sit inside at one of the couple of tables, and browse the Capital Times while we wait.

My friend's lamb curry with roti arrives quickly. It's a big bowl slick with oil, pieces of lamb and potato swimming at the bottom of all the gravy.

However my Nyonya stir-fried chicken and vegetables is better - it's loaded with bok choy and beans, and a vague taste of peanuts.

For the sake of comparison, although we had plenty of food already, we also got an order of Beef Satay.These tasted strongly of soy sauce, but had a pleasant char.

All up, lunch came to $31, which was pretty decent pricewise, but we weren't paying for atmosphere or comfort. Skip the roti if you're going, and you can have a fairly decent feed for under $10.

Rasa Malaysia worth the trek

A freezing southerly was blowing around Wellington when I met with a group of friends at Rasa Malaysia on Upper Cuba Street, pushing all thoughts of trying something new out of my mind. The weather meant I had to have my favourite laksa.

But first, we have starters to try! We order beef satay to compare it to Satay Village’s. The peanut sauce is less sweet, which we like, but the beef lacks the smokey charred taste. The curry puffs are homemade, stuffed with spiced kumara. The coconut chutney with the poppadoms is tasty, but at $8 for six poppadoms which normally cost 50 cents each in Indian restaurants, this seems overpriced.

Rasa is small, but the service was exceptional - when it became apparent we were all going to taste each other’s dishes, small plates appeared, and my laksa was delivered with a big stack of very necessary napkins. I had no shame in tucking one into my shirt so I didn’t spill any of the thick yellow coconuty gravy down my front as I maneuvered slippery egg noodles into my mouth.

I’ve had this laksa a lot, and it can vary in quality, but in this occasion it was perfect, full of vegetables as well as chicken and tofu, and loaded with toppings of bean sprouts, spring onions and fried shallots. I was so engrossed in it, I almost forgot I was supposed to be trying my friends’ food as well. Luckily, I was able to sample succulent Mutton Varuvaal, with meat full of flavour that melted in my mouth, and a dense murtabak - a parcel of lamb curry wrapped in roti served with gravy.

The other highlight, apart from my laksa, was the Lamb Dosai, a crispy pancake enclosing filling, with a range of dipping sauces. Many reviewers rate Rasa’s dosai as the best in town, and you’ll hear no arguments from me.

With mains hovring around the $17 mark, Rasa is up there in the price scale when it comes to Malaysia restaurants, but it’s worth the trek.

Satay Village

With so many Malaysian restaurants to choose from in the capital, sometimes the decision simply comes down to whereabouts you are at any given time. Satay Village on Ghuznee Street is frequently a winner when it comes to location, being just off Cuba Street (and handily close to a number of dairies that sell wine).

When we rocked up in a group of six at 7pm on a Wednesday, we knew we were pushing our luck not having a reservation, but luckily it was a nice enough night that we didn’t mind waiting on the street for 10 minutes before we could get a table.

Having a large group meant we got to try lots of things on the menu. We felt the spring rolls at $10 for six weren’t particularly good value, especially since, as one of my companions put it, on the night we went there appeared to be a lot more roll than spring - they could have used more filling. Beef satay with peanut sauce was charred nicely, but crying out for more salt - which luckily was provided.

Much better were the chicken wings - I’d never ordered them before but they were deliciously crunchy, and lightly spiced with turmeric.

Turmeric was a reoccurring spice throughout our meals. Two of our party ordered mee goreng, which was available with one, two or three additions (chicken, seafood or vegetables), and their plates were a huge pile of yellow noodles.

I decided to try another dish I’ve never had before, and so I ordered the most expensive thing on the menu at $18; a crumbed pork chop with creamy lemongrass sauce. It arrived as pieces of schnitzel instead of chops, but this was fine since at least I didn’t have to deal with any bones. The sauce is thick and delicious, made with coconut cream, but it was an incredibly rich combination with the deep-fried pork. Beef rendang is served with lots of sauce, rather than the more traditional dry version, and although I didn’t sample it, the red chicken curry looks tasty.

For quick food at fairly cheap prices, Satay Village delivers. I like that it’s got a BYO license, unlike its nearby competitors, but if you’re looking for a place with an elaborate fit-out and highly attentive service, you might want to look elsewhere.